Orbi mesh system with a main and 3 nodes here for about 3 years now. Although I run fiber directly from the main to my main system, I run an outdoor/garage system by a short wire connected to one of the mesh nodes and Apple TV for HT from a different node. Strong wi-fi throughout the house and even outside. There are probably newer/better mesh systems out there now but this has worked perfectly for me.
To extend Ethernet to remote location, are Powerline extenders or Mesh systems better?
I am trying to get Ethernet into a listening room that is not prewired, and it is not practical to run the hard cable through the old house into that room. I am planning to use a new music streamer that requires Ethernet connection (no wifi).
For hifi purposes, for passing the music signal, not just for computer equipment, are ethernet over powerline units better, or are wifi mesh router systems (which bring an ethernet port into a room using wireless transfer between the mesh devices) better?
For Ethernet over powerlines, I am worried about contaminating the power lines feeding the stereo preamplifier/amplifier, I don’t know if hifi power conditioners will filter out that super high frequency noise well enough.
For wifi mesh, it seems that the wireless handling of the music signal to feed the remote Ethernet port might somehow degrade the sound and introduce other problems that a connected wireline would avoid.
I am not a person that understands these technologies deeply, so I would value perspectives from others here who are users and who may be technically more qualified to understand this stuff.
Showing 2 responses by mitch2
Maybe this is system-dependent since it is not evident in my system. I have both Ethernet and optical 45-foot runs from my main router to my server/streamer so I can directly compare the two. My comparisons over the past year have indicated the sound is virtually identical between optical and Ethernet, and both sound fine - I certainly couldn’t pick out which method is being used in a blind test. My optical is implemented using two TP-Link convertors. I use a switch but no other specialty boxes with Ethernet. I have also not heard about other people experiencing thin/edgy sound when using an optical set-up similar to mine or other optical options such as the Sonore opticalRendu. |